


Her, the Moon, and the Beautiful Game

by uswntinharmony



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: Anxiety, F/F, Friends to Lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-21
Updated: 2019-07-16
Packaged: 2020-03-09 00:01:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18905356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/uswntinharmony/pseuds/uswntinharmony
Summary: Christen's focus has always been on her career and bettering herself. But then the moon shone just right and the stars aligned and suddenly she had no idea what to do.





	1. Prologue

“Up, again!”

Christen made out a muffled voice through the pounding in her ears. But she didn’t get up. Not right away, anyway. She breathed in the fresh dew of the evening grass, savoring the coolness of the soil against her forehead. She inhaled and exhaled rhythmically, grounding herself. She tried to ignore the cuts and bruises prodding at her and the growing pain in her head.

“Christen, get up, now!”

Christen sighed, slowly rising from the ground to face her trainer with a stone cold glare.

“Don’t look at me that way,” he scoffed.

“How many more times do we have to do this, Coach?” Christen gritted her teeth.

“Until you get it right,” he shoved the soccer ball into her chest. “Now, again!” he backed up so that he was blocking her path to the goal.

Christen shook her head, trying to clear the fog from her head. It didn’t work. She slammed the ball on the ground roughly in annoyance and set herself up for the drill. With a deep breath, she took off. It was just her and the ball, her and the ball, her and the ball- until it wasn’t.

“Up, again!”

“I’m sick of this,” Christen punched the soft ground in frustration.

“Christen, you’re just being careless now! Stop letting the ball get away from you! It’s a simple one-two around me, then shoot!”

“You make it sound so easy,” Christen rolled her eyes.

“For you, it should be.”

“I can’t do this anymore,” Christen continued to lay on the grass in defeat. “My whole body hurts and I’m not gonna get any better today at this rate.”

“Christen,” her trainer sat beside her. “Do not lose sight of your dream, of your goal.”

“If I can’t perform a simple one-two correctly, how do you expect me to play for the national team one day?”

“Because I know what you’re capable of. You may be young, but if you keep practicing, keep improving, you _will_ succeed. But by giving up on these seemingly mundane tasks like today, you’re setting yourself up for failure.”

Christen groaned. Deep down, she knew her coach was right. She was a skilled player. She was arguably the best player on her U-17 team (not to brag or anything) and consistently dominated the field. She even had one-on-one lessons with her coach, if that spoke for anything. She _was_ capable, she just had to suck it up and get the job done.

“Fine,” she relented, getting to her feet. “Let’s get this over with.”

“Atta girl,” her trainer patted her back and returned to his position. “Now, again!”

It took her another half hour, but Christen did it. She perfectly executed the play, and scored a goal in the top left corner on top of it all. When she left the field that night, long after the sun had gone down and the stars awoke, she knew that no matter what, no matter the trials and tribulations, this is what she wanted to do with her life.

She could picture it now: the overwhelming energy of the stadiums, packed to the brim. The adoring fans, clamoring for a photo or autograph. The pride in wearing the crest for the United States each time she pulled on the jersey. She would do anything for that feeling, those moments. So she did.


	2. The Great Coconut Milk Debacle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> some starbucks, sandwiches, and stars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> see i told you guys i'm terrible at updating chapters!! okay a couple things here before we get going:  
> 1) we're gonna pretend the nwsl is thriving. i want all the stannies on a LA team okay??  
> 2) i obviously don't know christen AT ALL so please understand i'm exaggerating any anxiety she may have struggled with in her football career  
> 3) anxiety is not fun and if you don't like reading about it or it triggers you consider this your warning. you will not enjoy this book
> 
> anyway thanks all for bearing with me!! much appreciated

“Next!”

Christen glanced up from her phone to find, much to her surprise, that she was the next person in line. She stepped up to the counter where a Starbucks worker awaited, much too chipper for 6:30 AM in Christen’s opinion.

“Welcome to Starbucks, whatcha havin’?” he asked cheerily.

Christen was a morning person, don’t get her wrong, but this man could put the sun itself to shame. She wasn’t sure if she respected him for that, or was annoyed by it.

“Hi, yes, could I please have a grande iced mocha with coconut milk?”

“Will that be all for today?”

“Yep.”

“Can I get a name please?”

“Christen.”

“Okay, ma’am, that’ll be $4.15.”

Christen handed over a five dollar bill, dropping the extra change into the tip jar. The guy earned at least a little something for having so much energy at this hour. She made her way to the pickup area and looked down at her phone once more. She had been checking it obsessively ever since leaving the house that morning, anxiously awaiting a text from Kelley. She was pretty sure Laura had said practice was at 8, but now she wasn’t too sure. If Kelley would text her back and confirm her suspicions, that would be nice. What if she was late to practice? Would Laura bench her for tomorrow’s match as punishment? What if she was hours early? Then what would she do, sit down on the field and wait it out?

“Coconut milk, huh?” a voice interrupted Christen’s intrusive thoughts.

“What?” she turned to the source of the question to find a weary girl standing beside her, bags under her eyes. Very characteristic of morning people such as Christen herself.

“Coconut milk is disgusting. I don’t know why you would ever put that in a drink,” the girl said with a playful smile on her face.

“Maybe because I’m lactose-intolerant?”

_Who does this girl think she is?_

The girl shook her head. “Yeah, but why not get almond milk? A much better choice if you ask me.”

“I’m allergic to nuts,” Christen said.

“Damn, stranger, anything else you can’t eat?”

“Nothing you need to know,” Christen snapped.

The girl raised her hands in surrender. “Okay, okay, no need to be cold. Just trying to make conversation here.”

“Well, there’s no need to attack my drink choices,” Christen crossed her arms.

The girl sighed. “Let’s start over. My name is Tobin,” she stuck out her hand for Christen to shake.

“Christen,” she took Tobin’s hand, feeling a slight warmth upon contact. She ignored it.

“Well, Christen, it seems as if we got off on the wrong foot. I promise I am not that much of a douche, believe it or not.”

“And I’m supposed to believe that?” Christen raised an eyebrow.

“Well, yeah,” Tobin shrugged. “What reason do I have to lie to you? I literally started talking to you a couple minutes ago.”

“You never know.”

“Venti black coffee!” a Starbuck employee called out, prompting Tobin to collect her drink.

_Of course she would order something nasty like that._

“Well, Christen, why don’t you give me a chance to prove it?”

“What do you mean?” Christen looked at the girl quizzically.

“How do you feel about giving me your number? Promise I’m not a serial killer or anything,” Tobin flashed a lopsided grin.

Christen considered Tobin’s request for a moment. She’d never been bold enough to give her number out to a stranger before. She usually kept to herself, opting not to join Kelley and some of her other teammates on their quests to various clubs where one would usually offer numbers. What was the normal protocol? Was it weird to tell your number to a complete stranger you met in a Starbuck at 6:30 AM?

“Christen?”

And she completely forgot about the fact that she was a relatively famous soccer player. What if Tobin was only asking for her number just to get in on her popularity? What if she didn’t like Christen at all, but wanted to capitalize on Christen’s so-called “celebrity” status?

“Christen, are you okay?”

“This isn’t about soccer, is it?” the words tumbled from Christen’s mouth before she could stop herself.

“What?” Tobin stared at her, puzzled. “How does soccer have to do with me asking for a cute girl’s number?”

“Oh, uhm, nothing,” Christen covered hastily, blushing profusely. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Okay,” Tobin said slowly, but luckily for Christen, decided not to push any further. “So what do you say? Can I have your number?”

Christen’s mind raced as she tried to come up with an answer. She didn’t receive genuine compliments often. Maybe this girl would actually like her for who she is, rather than the face of the LA football club. Maybe this girl could be different. Besides, Christen would feel terrible if she said no.

_Oh, to hell with it!_

Christen nodded with a small grin. She took the phone from a smiling Tobin and hastily typed in her contact information before handing it back.

“Press, huh?” Tobin raised an eyebrow upon seeing the last name Christen had typed out.

“Yes?” Christen’s stomach turned over.

_Please don’t let her recognize me. Please, please, please-_

“Christen Press,” she said thoughtfully, as if she was sounding it out. “I like it. Has a nice ring to it.”

“Thanks.”

“Welcome,” Tobin nodded. “Well, I oughta be going. I’ve taken up enough of your time and I have somewhere to be. I’ll see you around, Christen Press,” Tobin flashed her a wink before exiting the Starbucks, leaving Christen all alone to process what had just taken place.

Christen had almost forgotten about the iced mocha with coconut milk that sat waiting on the counter.

***

Christen was not a loud person. She usually kept to herself, opting not to participate in her team’s antics. It’s not that she was a Debbie Downer, more so that she was focused on football and improving herself. She didn’t see the point in getting distracted by trivial things.

That morning was different though. She helped Tierna steal the drill cones and hide them from Sarah, their assistant coach, laughing every step of the way. She wasn’t frustrated with herself when one of her shots soared way over the crossbar. She wasn’t upset when her team lost in their eight versus eight match. She suspected it had something to do with the event that had taken place earlier that morning.

Christen basked in the Los Angeles sun, laying side by side with Kelley after the end of practice. This was always her favorite part of the day. She sighed in content, toes digging into the grass as she stretched out.

“What’s got you all chipper today?” Kelley asked, rolling on her side to face her friend.

“Can’t a girl just be in a good mood?” Christen said.

Kelley shook her head. “I can’t remember the last time you smiled this much during a practice. Something happened, and you’re gonna tell me what.”

“Why should I? You never answered my texts.”

“You know, not all of us are up at the crack of dawn like you.”

“Yeah, well, I’m still insulted.”

“Whatever can I do to make it up to you?” Kelley placed a hand over her heart in fake sympathy.

“Hm,” Christen tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Buy me lunch later?”

“Ugh, fine. But only because I want to know what’s up with your positive attitude.”

Christen smirked. “I’m really craving Brooklyn Deli, by the way.”

“You’re impossible.”

“You love me.”

Christen doesn’t tell Kelley about the encounter until they’ve sat down with sandwiches in hand. She’s been friends with Kelley long enough to know that she couldn’t be trusted to hold up her end of the bargain if Christen revealed her cards first.

“So, spill, Pressi. Tell me everything,” Kelley said between chews.

“You’re gross.”

“Christen,” Kelley whined.

“Okay, okay, I get it. You know, it’s really not that big of a deal.”

“Christen Press, if you don’t tell me what’s going on right this instant, I’m telling everyone about the broccoli incident,” Kelley threatened.

Christen narrowed her eyes. “You wouldn’t.”

“Try me.”

As soon as Christen noticed the fire in Kelley’s eyes, she knew she had been beaten. She had seen those exact eyes too many times on the field, and too many times she had found herself on the ground in a heap. Kelley would claim she tripped over her own feet, but who was she fooling?

“Fine,” Christen relented.

Kelley sat back with a smug look on her face, arms crossed in vindication. “Go on, then.”

Christen proceeded to recount that morning’s events to her friend, relishing in Kelley’s astonished expressions and over-enthusiastic bursts of “Pressi’s got game!” and, much to Christen’s disdain, “She’s right, coconut milk sucks!”

“And so now I’m here with you, after an actually decent practice, ready for this conversation to be over,” Christen finished with a sip of her drink.

“Over? Why, Christen, it’s just getting started,” a sly grin crept onto Kelley’s face. Christen didn’t like that look one bit.

Christen slumped over in defeat. “I hate you,” she groaned.

“Christen, I honestly can’t remember the last time you’ve been remotely interested in a romantic relationship. This is huge!”

“I barely know this girl, Kel! Don’t go getting ahead of yourself,” Christen said.

“But you _want_ to get to know her.” Kelley stole one of Christen’s fries from her plate, earning a slap on the wrist. “Ow! No need to be so aggressive, Press.”

Christen shrugged. “You had it coming.”

“So anyway,” Kelley continued, making a production of rubbing her hand, “What’re you gonna do about this chick?”

“What is there _to_ do?” Christen played around with her straw mindlessly. “She has my number, but I don’t have hers. She may not ever call or text me. It was at the crack of dawn, remember? She probably wasn’t even in her right mind when she was talking to me.”

Kelley rolled her eyes. “What’s it gonna take for you to realize that you’re a catch, Pressi? You’re drop-dead gorgeous, incredibly smart, _and_ a semi-celebrity. Who wouldn’t want to date you?”

Deep down Christen knew Kelley was right. The lack of relationships in her repertoire wasn’t due to her looks or personality (or at least she didn’t think so). There were other reasons behind that.

“Well,” Christen stood, offering a hand to Kelley. “I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”

Kelley took it gratefully, allowing Christen to pull her up onto her feet. “Guess so.”

***

As much as Christen enjoyed the mornings, she had always held a certain appreciation for the night. When she was a little girl, her mother would take her and her two sisters out to stargaze in the open field near their house in Palos Verdes. They’d lie out on a quilt together, sometimes in silence, sometimes with laughter in the air. On special occasions, they’d each get a soda to sip on too.

By the age of nine, Christen could name almost all of the constellations. As a kid, she adored Pegasus, as most children do. Her favorite now, on the other hand, was Libra, though not because of the zodiacs or whatever horoscopes or personality traits it encompassed. She thought those were funny to look at, sure, but it contained no substance. No, she was drawn to its meaning. In her strenuous life full of ups and downs, she’s come to appreciate the scales of justice and what they stand for. She was a big believer in the concept that everything happens for a reason, and that in the end, the universe will end in balance.

When her mother passed away a few months ago, Christen looked to the night sky for guidance. She prayed to the moon, whose brilliant aura illuminated the darkness that overwhelmed her. She hoped that it would guide her mother to her place in the universe amongst so many other kind souls. Today when Christen studied the stars, she looked for the brightest one, knowing that it was her mother watching over her.

This particular night, however, Christen wasn’t thinking about her mom too much. Rather, she was occupied by another girl. How was it that she couldn’t get Tobin off her mind? Her adorable laugh danced its way through Christen’s ears. Her dazzling smile was emblazoned in her head. Her raspy yet comforting voice struck Christen’s heart with force she thought impossible.

Christen hated herself for feeling this way. She had talked to Tobin for what, five minutes? There was no reason to get herself all riled up, yet here she was, her brain running at a million miles per hour. She had a game tomorrow; she shouldn't be keeping herself up with thoughts of what could or couldn’t be.

Christen often found herself in these types of situations, though. Not necessarily regarding romantics, but anything really. She couldn’t help but overanalyze any situation she might encounter, her mind rarely refusing to rest. She didn’t like it by any means, but she’d learned to adapt after twenty-some-odd years. It was issues like Tobin that really heightened it. Not that Tobin was an issue per say, just _complicated_.

By the time Christen wandered back to her apartment it was almost eleven. She went through her normal nighttime routine; slipping into a loose fitting t-shirt, washing her face, brushing her teeth, the works. She was reading Chris Guillebeau’s “The Happiness of Pursuit” under her warm, safe blankets when she heard her phone buzz on the side table beside her. She rolled over and picked up her phone, expecting to find a text from Kelley asking her what time the bus was picking them up tomorrow. As much as Christen adored her, Kelley was terrible at keeping her schedule straight (not that Christen was much better). Christen nearly dropped the phone on her face upon seeing the notification.

_**Unknown:** _ _sup coffee cutie ;)_

Turns out she didn’t have to wait long for Tobin to send that first text.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> again!! do Not expect me to update on the reg. i'll try my best but i have work and college is coming up. i still hope you read this and keep up with it though!! im really trying my best out here.
> 
> feel free to hmu on tumblr @christenpressing!

**Author's Note:**

> hello i am back with my favorite gay hos! i am Awful at posting chapters so really this is just a test to see if you guys like it. if you want me to continue please let me know in the comments below or on my tumblr @christenpressing! much love 2 u all <3  
> -JJ


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